Is that good enough for Kinder math? I am really worried I am missing something important.

And for "English" I plan on using Explode the Code's first three books. They say they're for Pre-K but I plan on teaching Hannah and Annabelle together.

What else do Kindergarteners *need*?

Thanks :)

paganmomblog

07-03-2010, 06:15 PM

If you can get your hands on some math blocks that would help with place value.

Sequencing helps with math, usually story sequencing is used. And you may also want to get a small clock to help with time (my target had a foam one for $1).
I would add phonics to help with beginning to read. My son is abig fan of magnetic letters and that can help with the phonics aspect as you put the letters together to make words.

But really I think sticking with the Three R's is all you need and looks like you are well on your way.

hockeymom

07-03-2010, 07:00 PM

I think it looks good. I love the real life applications--you must be an unschooler! :)

For telling time, the schools don't teach it until grade 2 usually, so don't stress if she doesn't get it yet. If she's interested and ready though, by all means go for it--my DS was reading the analog clock by age 5, but things like that are important to him. Although he learned it entirely on his own, the only trick I showed him was to compare the digital clock with the analog. If she is reading numbers on the digital, it can really help her "fact check".

Value placement isn't usually taught until grade 1 or 2, so don't stress about that either. Until she is comfortably counting and doing math facts beyond 100, I'm not sure what the value would be. Value placement really comes into play when they are learning to add and subtract using borrowing and carrying--usually in grade 2. If she's counting and skip counting by the end of the year, she's doing just fine. It sounds like you have plenty of ways to make it fun! :)

paganmomblog

07-03-2010, 08:54 PM

Really? They teach analog clocks here in K along with value placement. I know the value placement isn't so much "this is the hundreds column, this is the tens column" but more graph recognition. Of course with unschooling it may not be as necessary to focus on that? We aren't unschooling so I don't want to present anything erroneously :)

Oh I have a book called "What Every Kindergartner Needs To Know" by Ed Hirsch that lists a core curriculum. That might help regardless of method, at least have something to start out with and reference.

At that age, I did lots of math games & manipulatives. We touched on time, but nothing major. She did simple, basic addition & subtraction toward the end of the year, but still used her fingers to figure them.

She also really enjoyed simple science experiments. There are tons of books out there with ideas you can do at home, easily & with things you probably already have in your kitchen.

Lots of crafty stuff.

For writing, I let her use a dry erase board, which she loved, to practice letters. I would draw a big letter on a piece of posterboard & she'd glue marshmallows or cheerios to it. She dictated lots of stories to me, then drew pictures to go with it.

One thing all of my girls have loved are lapbooks. There's a great site I found recently for the littles that are totbooks; like lapbooks, but less involved. My 8 year old makes her own, but I usually make the ones for my 4 year old & she plays with them. Maybe these would be fun for y'all to get into.

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/TotBooksTotPacks.html

Have fun! :)

MamaB2C

07-04-2010, 12:27 AM

We used Math U See Primer, and it shows value placements using the blocks and a row of houses (the ones or units house, the 10's house, the 100's house). Only 9 of each can fit in each house so they have to move to the next one.

We took it a step further and made little boxes that fit exactly 9 of the varying block sizes.

You could probably make something similar, but the blocks really worked well for us.

sb12345

07-04-2010, 11:34 AM

Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions!

I am not really sure if we are unschoolers yet. This will be my first year. I mean, I taught her some Pre-K stuff but nothing too formal.

I have been looking into unschooling though.

Thanks :)

paganmomblog

07-05-2010, 12:33 AM

Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions!

I am not really sure if we are unschoolers yet. This will be my first year. I mean, I taught her some Pre-K stuff but nothing too formal.

I have been looking into unschooling though.

Thanks :)

Just go with your gut and try out any sort of style or curriculum as you start out. It's our first year too and it's kinda overwhelming with all of the options but taking cues from the kids helps make things easier.